Movie Review-Upstream Color

Review-There is this saying, â€œYou cannot rush geniusâ€. I think that saying fits Shane Carruth to a tee, while he had so much pressure to follow up Primer so fast and that people gave up on him years ago because they could no longer be patient. Well 9 years later we finally have Upstream Color the long rumored in production second feature and I am here to tell you that it was well worth the wait. God, it would have sucked if he went the way of Labute, Richard Kelly and so many others who made the film that made us pay attention and we went on to praise so much only to see them whore their names and putting out such crap. I will say right now if you are going into this film expecting a Primer clone or sequel, you are going to be so letdown. Upstream Color is a brilliant and so smart film, that may not be for people who are so consumed by the junk food your local Cineplex feeds you and tells you that is the way of film. Upstream Color is a different sort of film, if you watch it one time you feel compelled to watch it again like you missed something. This is one of those films that does not try to dumb down its audience, but tries to give it a message that is so complex and substantial that I am not sure that people who like to sit back in this day and time and have a cell phone going or talking throughout, will get this film or even understand it. This is a film that demands and wants your full attention.

The obvious first difference between this and Primer is the emotional connection, the first thirty minutes of the film build up a story of a Thief who gets worms from blue orchids and then uses these worms to brainwash people and then he gets their life savings without the victim even knowing it. Well, we are introduced to Kris who is the latest victim who goes thru this. Well she becomes aware of the parasite and seeks the help of a guy known as The Sampler. From there we go into some weird areas of seeing into the lives of the victims of the parasite whenever the pig comes into the picture. We watch music made about what the victims are put thru. We also see a connection of Kris and Jeff who himself was a victim of the parasite. The relationship as it unfolds seems to be controlled by something that is unsure as both their lives seems to be bleeding into each other, and we are not sure what is going on or been going on. Upstream Color is that offbeat film that is so different and unique that if you are a serious movie fan and looking for something different may be what you are asking for. This film is so original and yet tried to throw in some familiarity to fuck with us to give us an outcome that was different. The negative to this experience is to know it will be 9 years till the follow up. All in all this film is going to stick with you long after the ending credits fade into the darkness. This is not a must see film, this is a film that will be talked about for years to come and may inspire a lot of our future directors. This is a film that I feel will be looked back on as a weird and odd classic. This is what Kelly should have followed Donnie Darko up with.